Stop Loss Orders

Because of the surgery and missing the first two weeks of training, I forgot about Stop-Loss orders. Soldiers who are about to deploy, usually 90 days from the deployment date, receive Stop-Loss orders. These orders mean soldiers cannot transfer, retire or otherwise leave the unit until after the deployment has ended.
I (and everyone else in my unit) got Stop-Loss orders on October 26. Lately I have been so busy the deployment has seemed unreal. Stop-Loss orders make the deployment much more real than it was yesterday.

More Paperwork

I spent most of today updating a spreadsheet and labeling file folders for annual maintenance forms. It's the kind of thing I can do with one arm. At Physical Therapy, the therapist (His name is Joe, I guess I could say Joe the Therapist.) said the purpose of the sling is to REST my arm, not so I could figure out how many things I can do with a sling on. I had some stiffness in my shoulder that Joe associates with over-active patients. Go figure.

While I was working on some forms I overheard two sergeants discussing who was going out to check the status of a particular HumVee. SGT Inert--a grumpy truck driver in his 40s who flunked all three events in the PT test--yelled across the maintenance bay for SGT Speed--a mod-20s woman who just Maxed the PT test and finished 2nd overall in the run--to go out and check on the HumVee. She is senior in date of rank and told him to "Get his lazy ass out in the cold and do it himself." As soon as SGT Inert was out the door, the soldiers he usually yells at (from the seated position) were pumping their fists and saying, "Yes!"

First Good night's Sleep!!

Maybe the worst part of the surgery is the trouble I have had sleeping. I usually sleep on my right side so for the past two weeks I have been waking up several times a night--usually when I try to roll onto my right side and wake up from the pain rush. Last night I managed to sleep three hours uninterrupted, then two more until the alarm woke me at 4:45am. Maybe it was the long day at the motor pool that made me tired enough to sleep at night.

Today was another day updating maintenance forms at the motor pool. Dinner was really interesting though. I ate with another old sergeant--our chief cook--who has a daughter in college. He said there is a scholarship available for the children of Army national Guard soldiers who are getting deployed. I will be going to the education office at lunch tomorrow to pick up three of those forms. The chef in camouflage also told me that when he was deployed last he took college courses on major bases like the one we are going to. He said they look for people with graduate degrees among the soldiers deploying to teach classes in Iraq. I am also going to look into the possibility of teaching writing and literature in Iraq. That would be an interesting line on my resume.

First Day Back--PT Test

When I showed up this morning for my first day back to pre-deployment training everyone was in PT gear. The PT test started immediately after morning formation. They already had enough graders so I read the Task, Conditions and Standards--the 200 or 300 words that begin each event and say what each soldier has to do and how it has to be done to pass the test. Standing and watching in a sling, I really wished I could have been taking the test. Especially the run. The two fastest runners came in at 14:17 and 14:18. If I had been able to run I could have stayed with them, they ran together from lap 2 till then end at a good pace. Oh well.
I spent the rest of the day in the motor pool revising vehicle inspection forms for a file we are setting up for deployment. It's something I can do with one arm.
I also issued some tools and went back to being the tool bitch--as much as I can with one hand. When I showed up in the morning a lot of people welcomed me back and asked how I was doing. It really is good to be back. But in the motor pool a few soldiers seemed very happy I was back signing out tools. One said the guy who replaced me for two weeks didn't like the job. "He really put the Bitch in Tool Bitch Sgt G."

Training in a Sling

Tomorrow morning at 0700 I will be in formation and getting ready for the final week of the three-week pre-deployment training. I missed the first two for surgery recovery but should be able to at least watch the training on the last week. Jon Rutter of the Lancaster Sunday News will be coming to our training site on Tuesday to see how things are progressing toward deployment. I was supposed to be in my second week of Warrior Leadership Course this week, but the surgery ended that. On the bright side of that, our training NCO said I may be able to go to WLC while we are in Iraq. The course would not be in the Middle East but in Germany. So I would get an extra two weeks in a place with trees and grass.

Like Fasting at a Buffet

When I scheduled the surgery, my one regret was missing the first week of training. We were supposed to do individual weapons qualification--rifles and pistols--the first three days of training then the next three days were to be the light (M249 SAW) and heavy (M2 HB .50 cal.)machine guns and the M19 belt-fed grenade launcher.

I just found out we are firing those weapons next week--the week I return to limited duty in a sling. So next week I will be watching everyone else in my unit fire the M2, M19, and M249 while I watch--as much fun as watching other people eat while you are fasting. Firing a machine gun is not a one-arm activity.

"Limited to one-arm activity. . ."

Just before the surgery I asked my doctor for a letter to send to my unit because I was (am) scheduled for three weeks of training beginning two days after the surgery. The unit wanted me to observe training if I could, even if I could not participate. So the doctor wrote a letter stating that my full recovery should be the primary goal and I would be wearing a sling for six weeks, but he thought after two weeks I "should be able to ride to the field in a truck." But he made clear: "He will be limited to one arm activity for the first six weeks." I faxed the letter to the unit operations sergeant pointing. He read the letter while I was on the phone and burst out laughing at that restriction. When I do go back to duty I am sure somebody is going to making loud suggestions as to what activities I can do with one arm--and how they will prepare me for next year.